Climbing into the ring for a world championship bout can set set a fighter up for life, even if he loses. Of course the purses can stretch from miserly to obscene, but you'd expect that even at the lower end, the money would be enough to bring a smile to any fighter's face. That's not so though. Until a couple of years ago, I was a bit naive when it came to payment of boxers in title fights. I unwittingly believed that any world championship bout must offer serious money to the combatants, like a minimum of a $100,000 or more. Fffftttt, what a joke. I've just read that McJoe Arroyo's first defence of his IBF Super Flyweight belt, a bout against the mandatory challenger Jerwin "Pretty Boy" Ancajas went to a purse bid. There was just the single offer. It went for just $25,000. As the champion, Arroyo is entitled to 85% of the purse, $21,250. Ancajas gets to stick $3,750 in his pocket. Out of this paltry sum will come his fight costs. He'll be left with bugger all. Those of us who happily cheer on the under dog will hope he can win and earn more as the champ, but at $21,250 a pop, nobody's going to get wealthy. There are probably millions of fighters, spread across all corners of the planet, who will spend a generous part of the prime being punched about the head for next to no return. I as much as anyone rejoice at the deeds of Golovkin, Fury, Gonzalez, Kovalev and co, but rarely does my mind wander to those untold numbers who's lives have been damaged by a brutal pastime, and who have walked out as poor as the day they walked in.
